By Will Gray, Golf Channel
While the rise of Tiger Woods from golf prodigy to 14-time major champion is well-documented, opportunities to view Woods and understand his mindset before he became a sports icon are relatively rare.
A video with Trans World Sport from early 1990 provides such a perspective. The interview, which was re-released to commemorate the company's 20-year anniversary, shows Woods at age 14, still a year shy of his first U.S. Golf Association title and six years before declaring, "Hello, world."
Despite his age, Woods is open and candid about his race, providing a prescient prediction for its potential role in his impact on the game of golf.
"Since I'm black, it might be even bigger than Jack Nicklaus," he noted. "I might be sort of like a Michael Jordan in basketball."
The interview, which showed shots of Woods in his childhood bedroom with posters of Nicklaus lining the walls, also provided a glimpse into the mindset that would help separate him from his peers down the stretch of dozens of tournaments.
"My competitiveness," he answered when asked what set him apart from rivals. "When you have to make a putt, you make a putt. If you have to hit the shot, you hit the shot. You just sort of drop into another zone and you block out everything."
"Video: Teenage Woods speaks on future in golf," by Will Gray appears courtesy of Golf Channel
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